India face Pakistan in crucial Asia Cup tie

Dhaka: Sub-continental giants India and Pakistan meet in a crunch match in the Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Saturday, renewing their bitter rivalry in cricket after a year.

Showdowns between the neighbours, who last played in the 50-over World Cup in Australia-New Zealand in February 2015, usually draw hundreds of millions of television viewers, making the contests the biggest box office attraction in the sport.

But diplomatic tensions have meant that the two teams have not played any series for more than three years and their rivalry is restricted to multi-national tournaments.

Pakistan, furious that India has rebuffed repeated pleas to play a series at a neutral venue, will be desperate to cause an upset against their giant neighbour.

But ahead of the match, Pakistan’s captain Shahid Afridi sounded diplomatic, saying the game could be an opportunity to improve relations between the two nations, which have fought three wars since their independence some seven decades ago.